The best replacement for footings is slab.

The best alternatives to footings are rated as following:
★★★★★  slab
★★★  piles
★★★  floating slab
★★  piers
★★  footers
★  floating deck
★  deck blocks
★  slabs

Your alternative for footings is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about footings, one probably shouldn't forget about piers.

Other search terms related to footings and their ratings are:
★★★★★ piers
You have in mind a companion for footings and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of footings in all years. Click on graph for more.
footings
slab
piles